$72.7 B

Age:

84

Warren Buffett is wealthier than ever thanks to the stellar performance of his diversified holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Its coveted Class A stock, which is the most expensive of any public U.S. company, eclipsed $200,000 per share for the first time in August 2014. Buffett moved to 3rd richest on Forbes' 2015 list of the world's richest, up 4th richest in 2014. With dozens of subsidiaries, including in railroads, insurance and energy, Berkshire Hathaway posted $182 billion in 2013 revenue and $19.5 billion in net income. Still inking big deals, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought battery maker Duracell from Procter & Gamble in November 2014 for $4.7 billion. A generous philanthropist, he bested his own giving record in July 2014, giving away Berkshire shares worth $2.8 billion, primarily to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation but also to his children's foundations, bringing his lifetime giving to nearly $23 billion. Buffett says his best ever investment was buying Benjamin Graham's book "The Intelligent Investor" in 1949. He later studied under Graham before moving home to Nebraska and acquiring a struggling textiles company in 1962, Berkshire Hathaway. In early February 2015, it was the fourth most valuable public company in the U.S. with a market capitalization of $355 billion. [...] more